Downlink optimization of radio resource allocation in DS-CDMA networks: an economic approach

In this paper, we present a model based on utility functions and pricing for resource allocation in the downlink of DS-CDMA systems carrying elastic traffic, where power and data rate are controllable resources. The goal of our model is to achieve the social optimal resource allocation via the adjustment of resource price, which is similar to the market model in microeconomics. According to whether fairness is guaranteed by allocating each user with a minimal transmission data rate, two different algorithms - fairness-centric allocation (FCA) and utility-centric allocation (UCA) - are proposed. Simulation results show that, while the performance of FCA and UCA is slightly different, both resource allocation algorithms are flexible and efficient for the downlink of DS-CDMA systems.